DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) – Decatur Memorial Hospital has named its new president and CEO.
Drew Early, who has 13 years of experience with Memorial Health System, will be to be the new leader at DMH pending the full completion of a plan to turn the hospital into an MHS system affiliate. Since December 2016, Early has been vice president of operations for MHS, overseeing emergency and trauma services, environmental services, security, facilities design and construction, engineering, food and nutrition services and biomedical engineering, according to a press release.
Early will replace former DMH president and CEO Tim Stone, who spent the last four years in that role with the hospital. He had been with DMH since 1995, when he served as chief operating officer.
“We are excited about Drew’s selection as our new leader and look forward to introducing him to the community in the near future,” said Larry Altenbaumer, chair of the DMH board of directors. “Drew represents the combination of leadership and experience that is critical to advancing our board’s commitment to positioning Decatur Memorial Hospital to continue to be a leader in providing a comprehensive scope of high-quality, community-based health care services.”
Early’s educational background includes a master’s degree in health services administration, which he earned in April 2006 from the University of Michigan, and a May 2004 bachelor of science degree in health care systems administration from Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Mich. He, his wife Krista and their three children live in central Illinois and will move to Decatur.
MHS leaders spoke highly of Early’s leadership abilities.
“Over the years Drew has served at Memorial, he has done an outstanding job of leading and managing multiple service lines at the hospital and coordinating with the health system,” said Ed Curtis, president and CEO of Memorial Health System. “Drew’s solid health care management skills will help guarantee the successful integration of Decatur Memorial Hospital into our system.”
DMH is expected to become the second-largest MHS hospital if full affiliation is approved and reaches its expected Oct. 1 completion date – the same day Early is scheduled to start in the role. The DMH staff includes over 2,300 employees.
Before he was vice president of operations at MHS, the release said Early served as administrator of cardiovascular and emergency services, director of business development and support and administrative fellow for the system. He started with MHS in June 2006.
